- DragonFire Laser Defense System Just Passed Test
- It can shoot down drones traveling at 400 miles per hour with incredible accuracy.
- Under the $415 million (£316 million) contract, it will be on board a British destroyer in 2027, with deployment timelines quickly reduced.
DragonFire, a new laser defense system, has been successfully tested in the UK and has proven to be accurate in destroying even fast-moving drones. A contract is currently in place to supply these weapons to the Royal Navy.
How Tom's Hardware Reports, The UK government has just announced The $415 million (£316 million) contract with MBDA will see the installation of a laser energy weapon (LDEW) system on board a Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer by 2027 (five years earlier than originally expected).
Recent testing of DragonFire at the UK Ministry of Defense's Hebrides proving ground showed the laser destroyed drones flying at speeds of up to 650 km/h (just over 400 mph). The Ministry of Defense tells us that this LDEW can hit a pound coin (just under a quarter of a US dollar) at a distance of a kilometer, which is a stunning achievement.
However, it's not just about accuracy, it's also about cost-effectiveness, with the laser costing around £10 per shot (approximately $13). Compare this to the price of a drone interception missile, which “costs over hundreds of thousands of pounds per shot,” the Ministry of Defense notes. And it's clear that when you consider the potential scale of drone attacks, it's growing rapidly.
Minister for Defense Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard MP said: “This powerful laser will position our Royal Navy at the forefront of innovation within NATO, providing cutting-edge capabilities to protect the UK and our allies in this new era of threats.”
The contract to implement DragonFire is expected to create around 590 jobs in the UK.
Joint effort
DragonFire testing was carried out by the UK Defense Science and Technology Laboratory in conjunction with MBDA, Leonardo and QinetiQ – the latter two are partners working with MBDA to develop the system for readiness by 2027.
IN press release from last yearThe MBDA explained: “The UK's DragonFire program brings together the best of British industry. It leverages MBDA’s decades of experience in weapons systems manufacturing, Leonardo’s position as a leading global authority on laser technology, electro-optics and advanced targeting, and QinetiQ’s experience as the only UK company to successfully develop and safely operate high-energy laser sources in the UK and coherent beam combining technologies.”
Although only the first ship has been confirmed, other Type 45 destroyers (the Royal Navy has six of these Daring-class anti-aircraft and anti-missile ships) are expected to receive DragonFire in the future after 2027.
Potential downsides to the laser system include weather and possible atmospheric interference, but the real test will be how DragonFire performs in real-world conditions aboard this first destroyer.
The other obvious caveat here is the amount of power required for this LDEW, which limits the DragonFire to installations where there is sufficient power available, such as on board a ship, as opposed to the more maneuverable Army armored vehicles on land – but more mobile deployments are planned over time.
If you're wondering what the power consumption of this laser is, previous trials at Porton Down in October 2022 used “about 50kW of power.” we were told.
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